Candidates get ready for state races

Mark Fischenich

With just three weeks until the deadline for candidates to file for state House races, state Rep. Terry Morrow is still waiting to find out who his opponent is going to be. Other than that one undetermined slot, candidates are in place for both the Republican and Democratic parties throughout the Mankato area.

Morrow, a first-term Democrat from St. Peter, said he picks up the newspaper each day to see if a Republican has announced plans to run against him.

“We’ll see what happens,” Morrow said.

Nicollet County Republican Party Chairman Richard Tostenson said Morrow won’t have to wait much longer, promising an endorsing convention in the next week or so. A Republican screening committee is scheduled to meet today to make a final decision on who to recommend for the District 23A seat.

Tostenson said he

doesn’t think the delay in picking a candidate is a sign that potential office-seekers are reluctant to take on Morrow or that they’re discouraged about Republican chances in the 2008 election. Instead, he said the part of the district that’s traditionally been fertile ground for candidates — the Norseland area — has been distracted by the town’s 150th birthday bash held during the weekend.

“All I’ve heard about all summer long is our celebration,” Tostenson said. “Now, I think everybody will get back to work this week.”

Elsewhere, the contests appear set.

District 21B

Democrat Bob Skillings will face Republican Paul Torkelson for a seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Comfrey.

Skillings, a New Ulm businessman, won 45 percent of the vote in a loss to Finstad in 2006. Torkelson, a rural St. James farmer, is making his first run for public office.

The district is made up of Brown County and parts of Watonwan and Sibley counties.

District 23B

State Rep. Kathy Brynaert, DFL-Mankato, is seeking a second term in the House after replacing longtime Democratic Rep. John Dorn, who retired prior to the 2006 election. Challenging Brynaert is Mankato Republican Dale Jordan, an electrical engineer attempting his first electoral contest.

Dominated by Mankato, District 23B includes a small portion of lower North Mankato, Skyline and Lime and Mankato townships.

District 24A

Rep. Bob Gunther, R-Fairmont, and Dale Hansen, DFL-Fairmont, will battle in this district, which stretches from Blue Earth to St. James. (See accompanying story.)

District 24B

Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, is being challenged by John Branstad, DFL-Madison Lake. Cornish, a three-term incumbent, is the Lake Crystal police chief and a retired state conservation officer. Branstad is a software engineer making his first run for elected office.

The district includes all of Blue Earth County outside of the immediate Mankato area, the eastern half of Faribault County and the western part of Waseca County.

District 25A

Three-term incumbent Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Ulm, is facing a rematch with Rep. Tim Siebsen, DFL-Montgomery. Brod, an appraiser, beat Siebsen, who co-owns a cabinet business and sells real estate, 57 percent to 43 percent two years ago.

The district includes all of Le Sueur County and parts of Scott and Sibley counties.

District 26A

Owatonna High School teacher Kory Kath is the Democratic candidate and Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz the Republican in a race for a seat left open by the retirement of four-term Republican Rep. Connie Ruth, also of Owatonna.

The district includes parts of Rice and Waseca counties, including the city of Waseca.

The filing period for state House races and many other races begins July 1 and closes July 16. If more than one candidate from a party files for a seat, the Sept. 9 primary election will determine who advances to the general election.